A radio communication device such as a smart phone continues to draw battery power even after the termination of a phone call, web surfing, or media viewing. A standby mode is entered either by the end user or automatically by power control systems on the device. In standby mode, the wireless cellular modem inside the device may enter a radio resource control idle (RRC_IDLE) mode which continues discontinuous reception (DRX) of limited information from serving cell such as paging channel, message or system information acquisition, or may periodically undertake neighbor cell search/measurement (CS&M) for cell re-selection to support mobility in the idle mode. Detailed control of resource utilization, including battery power is desirable.